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More about Part-Time Lecturers

Twenty Part-Time Lecturers have been awarded professional development funds in the 2014 round for this fund. The announcement letters were sent out to every PTL who appplied from President Barchi's office on February 10, 2014.

A group of writers and activists launched a petition on July 11, 2014, calling on David Weil, the new head of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, to investigate the wages and employment conditions of adjunct faculty in American higher education.

Part-Time Lecturers have the right to be paid when they teach / supervise a student's independent study. A side-letter to the PTLFC contract sets compensation at the minimum rate of $300 per credit per student.

Finally, after years of persistent work, the Part-Time Lecturer Faculty Chapter (PTLFC) was able to develop a tuition remission policy with the administration. PTLs may apply after the drop-add period ends. In Spring 2015, the last day of the drop-add period is Friday, January 30.

On Wed, Oct 14 at 12:30 PM, student activists who are supporters of Rutgers United Students Against Sweatshops will stand in solidarity with Part-Time Lecturer faculty who are negotiating for a fair contract - outside of and inside Winants Hall where the Board of Governors (BOG) is meeting. They invite all faculty to be part of the action!

So far, RU management has only moved from their initial insulting offer of a 1% annual raise to a 2% raise for part-time adjuncts, though we did succeed in getting them to lower their outrageous parking fee. Come out to the Oct 14 action. Click to read more!

According to management, there was an error in the calculation process with regard to union dues or representation fees. Due to a management error, many PTLs were overcharged an exorbitant fee credited to union dues. We have been informed that PTLs who were overcharged will receive a refund.

By law, a union's legislative activities are in fact already separated from representation fees. Moreover, neither membership dues nor representations fees are used to support candidates of any party, whether Republican, Democratic or any other.

In response to threats to Dr. Puar, the Executive Council reaffirms that academic freedom protects all scholarly research and communication, including criticism of the actions and morality of any government or non-state actor. The Union offers advice, training, and legal protection to any faculty member facing similar attacks from within or outside Rutgers University.

The PTL Faculty Chapter is proud to announce that our membership strength has grown from a solid 54% full member ratio at the beginning of 2015 to an impressive 70% today. We have set ourselves the goal of reaching an even higher number of full members over the next few months.

President David M. Hughes sent out the following message to members, letting them know how we are working to resist the imposition of Microsoft Office 365 and to stop the administration's corporate-style overreach in terms of surveillance of faculty email.

Because the Union vigorously defends the academic freedom and freedom of speech of all faculty, we are therefore continuing to gather all available facts related to this incident. We also stand in defense of Mr. Allred's rights to privacy and due process.

Politano said "The students seemed heartened to witness the support of faculty. I was personally inspired by the students who spoke on November 16, many of them announcing: 'I am undocumented and I am unafraid.'"

Quick takeaway: If you want a say over your teaching schedule in the years and decades to come, please exercise your right to vote and to protest Infosilem. This morning at 8am the Official Strike Authorization ballot was sent to all those who haven't yet voted with a link to cast your vote.

As we continue our fight for a fair PTL contract, the faculty senate in Camden and New Brunswick have overwhelmingly voted to approve resolutions in support of a fair contract for part-time faculty. Language can be found here:

New Brunswick Faculty Council Resolution on PTLs 4-19

Whereas, Rutgers has millions of dollars to give bonuses to administrators, and

Rutgers management agrees that by September 1, 2012, it will issue a letter to all department chairs and deans regarding that Part-Time Lecturers (PTL) bargaining unit employees who teach an Independent Study course shall be compensated at a minimum rate of three hundred dollars ($300) per credit.

This is the 2013 audited financial statement (annual report) prepared for the Demand and Return Procedure of the Part-Time Lecturer Faculty Chapter showing the expenses chargeable to all employees in the bargaining unit (representation fee payers and members of the union) and those expenses that are chargeable only to those who are members.

This document is the budget breakdown of major categories of the actual expenses from July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014 indicating what portion of each category was charged to all representation fee payers of the PTL bargaining unit and what portion was charged only to members of the Rutgers AAUP-AFT, PTLFC.

Flyer for the November 10, 2015 Action that will take place at the kick-off for the 250th Anniversary for Rutgers University--if we don't get positive movement at the bargaining table for Part-Time Lecturers before that date.

Attached is a Memorandum to Chancellors, Deans, Directors, and Department Chairs from Barbara A. Lee, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs on the PTL Professional Development Fund, dated December 10, 2015:

A representation-fee-paying employee (a non-member of the union) is not charged as much as a full-dues-paying member of the union, according to NJ state labor law. The union has a legal Duty of Fair Representation for all employees working in the bargaining unit, but ultimately the union only has legal standing to advocate for improvements in working conditions if fee payers join the union and claim their workplace democratic rights.

Part-Time Lecturers (PTLs), called "adjuncts" elsewhere, teach in nearly every department at Rutgers University. More than 1,300 PTLs are responsible for nearly 30% of all undergraduate instruction, in addition to teaching in our specialty and graduate schools. PTLs voted to unionize in 1988, forming the Part-Time Lecturer Faculty Chapter (PTLFC)-AAUP-AFT.

If you have an issue, contact the union office as soon as possible to see what avenues might be available to resolve the issue. A grievance may be brought only with respect to an issue that is under the heading of a mandatory subject (during negotiations) or to challenge discipline imposed on a PTL during the semester in which she/he is employed.

The following departments have passed resolutions showing their support for their Part-Time Lecturer Faculty colleagues. More departments or units are taking up the solidarity resolution in their faculty meetings (or by electronic communications). When a resolution is passed, please notify the union office at 732-964-1000, or write to the union office via email aaup AT rutgersaaup.org.

As part-time lecturers, we teach many of the courses at #Rutgers - why doesn't the university treat us with the dignity and respect that we deserve? The corporatization of higher education hurts all of us.

We want to thank the dozens of faculty and grads who turned out to Wednesday's successful informational picket for race and gender equity outside the Douglass Student Center. Also, hundreds of students happily took fliers and signed onto a solidarity petition.

As we continue our fight for a fair PTL contract, the faculty senate in Camden and New Brunswick have overwhelmingly voted to approve resolutions in support of a fair contract for part-time faculty. Language can be found here:

New Brunswick Faculty Council Resolution on PTLs 4-19

Whereas, Rutgers has millions of dollars to give bonuses to administrators, and

Our union stands today on the brink of unprecedented change. We fought for a historic, groundbreaking contract; we received one that left many with a sense of deep dissatisfaction. And while this past contract campaign has undoubtedly shown the strength of our solidarity, it has perhaps cast our shortcomings in high relief against the difficulties that we face.

My name is Thomas E. Moomjy. I’m running for the office of Secretary on the PTL Executive Board. I want our union to grow, to fully represent all members, to stand up to the corporate university machine, and to help ensure that Rutgers stays a world class research and teaching university.

Having served on the Rutgers Camden Faculty Council for the past seven years has broadened my knowledge of how the full-time faculty and top administrators think and where their interests and priorities lie.

I have been a PTL at Rutgers since 2007. I was at the point when no one would hire me because of my age, so coming to Rutgers has turned into a permanent job. I love to teach and teaching here at Rutgers has generally been very satisfying. My students appreciate my teaching; and I appreciate their willingness to learn and be challenged.

While working on my PhD in media studies at the School of Communication and Information I have been a PTL for 10 courses for a total of 80 sections since the spring semester of 2011. I have been a proud member of the Rutgers PTL Faculty Chapter, AAUP-AFT, for that time and I think I it is time for me to give back by running for a position on the executive board.

My name is Amy Higer and I am running on the “Faculty for a Democratic Union” slate for at-large member of the PTL Executive Board. I am also a member of the Rutgers Adjunct Rank-and-File Caucus (RA-RFC), which PTLs from all three campuses formed this spring with the goal of making our union chapter more responsive to the needs of its members, more transparent, and more democratic.

My name is Bryan Sacks. I’m a proud member of the Faculty for a Democratic Union slate and the Rutgers Adjuncts Rank and File Caucus (RA-RFC). I’ve been a PTL in the Department of Philosophy and Religion in Camden since 2005 and I’m also a Ph.D. candidate at SC&I in New Brunswick. I’ve held a graduate fellowship and taught nearly 50 classes at Rutgers across a variety of subject areas.

The Rutgers PTL union pioneered the organization of adjunct professors, and the time is right for our union to again lead the way in fighting for and winning significant improvements in pay, benefits, and working conditions, as part of a broader movement that advocates for students and the community as well as faculty.

The recent contract accomplishments pave the way for further achievements. Healthcare, pay, and workplace protections are especially important. I would like to focus my efforts in the area of improvements to workplace protections. More specifically, now that grievance procedures have been effected, I believe more can be done to strengthen them.

My name is David Winters, I am a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Communication and Information on the College Avenue campus in New Brunswick and a member of the Rutgers Adjuncts Rank and File Caucus (RA-RFC) running on the Faculty for a Democratic Union slate.

As we continue our fight for a fair PTL contract, the faculty senate in Camden and New Brunswick have overwhelmingly voted to approve resolutions in support of a fair contract for part-time faculty. Language can be found here: